No, it’s not going to satisfy those social conservatives committed to banning gay marriage everywhere and who see the Full Faith and Credit clause as a means of foisting one state’s decision on gay marriage on others. But it is significant that a self-described, “‘unapologetic social conservative’ who is ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-traditional marriage’”can embrace a position that the country can live with states deciding for themselves the marriage rules.
If the tide is turning in the country on gay marriage it is because the arguments against gay marriage are no longer persuasive with a significant chunk of the electorate. If conservatives really believe courts should not “make up” rights unspecified in the Constitution and should let elected entities decide public policy, then it seems Perry’s position is not only practical but also intellectually consistent. At some point, you have to trust the voters, and if you can’t persuade them, then learn to live with the results of policies you don’t favor.
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